Your Gift
What’s your unique gift?
What is that you do just about better than anyone you know?
Don’t be modest. You know that you have something that comes to you so easily, to the point that it causes many people to notice or comment. That’s your gift.
The Grasshopper describes it this way:
“Gift: Something you didn’t work at.”
Did you ever notice that your gift comes to you naturally?
You see things other people don’t see, you hear things other people don’t hear, and you sense things that others don’t feel. That’s a gift.
There are skills that you consciously build that may make you gifted, but that’s not your gift. Let’s pretend that you are a world class wine taster. You can easily identify the oak cask from which the specific tannins you taste came from. That’s a talent but not your gift. You had to work at that.
What present were you handed that you’re not taking full advantage of? This discovery often leads people to the second career or avocation that recharges their engine.
How many people do you know who are good at what they do but don’t like what they are doing? You don’t have to raise your hand, you’re in the majority. Reminds me of a story . . .
I had a gifted friend who went to art school and excelled. Upon graduation, he was offered a job by Hallmark in New York City as an artist. Quite the gig. Six months later he came back home and announced he had quit his plum job. Everyone wanted to know why. He summed it up this way, “I got tired of drawing fuzzy bunnies.” In this case, his gift was misapplied. He discovered that he liked the connection he made with people during live drawing sessions and has had a stellar, rewarding career as a portrait artist.
He could draw without effort well before anyone showed him how. It was his gift. Reminds me of another story . . .
I had another friend who could play any musical instrument soon after picking it up. He could pick out a tune on a washboard. He had perfect pitch and was an incredible play by ear musician. He honed his music reading skills by additional study, but he was gifted well before he knew what an instrument or an F# was. The sad part of this story is he drowned his gift. To say he is a hopeless drunk would be a compliment. He didn’t capitalize on his gift. To hear him tell it, it was his parents’ fault that he never succeeded to the heights that matched his skill level. He wasted his gift.
Are you keeping your gift under wraps?
How can you best use your gift?
These are questions to take with you into your quiet time. There is something that is a perfect match for your gift. Engage your curiosity and start the process of finding that form fitting glove.
The process begins by noticing you have a gift. We all do. You may have been hiding it under a rock or downplaying its value, but it’s there.
Next, ask yourself, “What is the purpose of my gift?” You will get answers. You just have to be open to letting them come through.
Finally, it’s time to put your gift on display. You can start slowly until you get more comfortable showing your stuff, but show it you must.
If modesty or fear gets in the way, remember this confidence boosting phrase: “You were given this gift for a reason.”
If you are already using your gift, you can hear my applause in the background.
If you haven’t found your gift, get off your duff and start looking. It’s in plain view for anyone who makes the effort.
This gift doesn’t belong to anyone but you, and only you can use to its best advantage.
When you show the world your gift, you’ll truly appreciate the phrase: “The gift that keeps on giving.”
All the best,
John
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan
http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301
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